This time I used OPI Swimsuit…Nailed It, OPI Ogre the Top Blue, and OPI Last Friday Night.

I had also used OPI In The Spot Light Pink and OPI Servin’ Up Sparkle.

I have already done the tutorial, but I will show you again.

First, I painted my tips with Swimsuit Nailed it. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be even.

Next, lightly paint your next color starting slightly above your first color. Ogre the top blue is a nice cream polish. Cream polishes aren’t really ideal with this manicure, but if you decide to use a cream, make sure you paint it on as lightly as possible to allow the shade underneath to show. This step also does not to be perfect or even. It will add a little bit of character if uneven.

Using your natural/ light pink shade, blend the two colors together. This shade should be sheer. It will help blend the colors together, while blending it with your natural nail color.

I then used Last Friday night to complete this gradient manicure. Again, start slightly above you last color line. Adding multiple layers of this last shade helps to blend the colors more and create a better gradient effect.

Here is one layer of Last friday night. Last Friday Night is a very very light shade of blue so it is slightly difficult to see the blue tone.

Therefore, I used two layers of Last Friday Night.

Lastly, I used OPI Serving Up Sparkle to blend all the layers together and continue the sparkle through the nail bed.

That’s it…again.

Glitter gradient manicures require very little time and doesn’t require a lot of concentration. It is easy nail art that anyone can do.

I was supposed to post this last night, but I ended up staying at work longer than expected. That also means that I didn’t have enough time to paint my nails before I went out for my friend’s birthday. What a major faux pas, right? A person that does a nail blog that goes out to public events not wearing nail polish. It’s whatever. But no worries though, more money for my nail fund :).

Anyways, this post is about gradient manicures. Most of the tutorials I found were for fading colors, but I though it would be more fun to do a glitter gradient. It follows the same technique though. There are other techniques out there, so if you find this one isn’t for you, by all means explore. I wanted to use my OPI Teenage Dream pink glitter polish so I had to pick my base colors that matched.

These are the four that I picked. I used OPI Elephantastic Pink as a tip base to start the gradient. Layered on top of that was OPI Hawaiian Orchid. Next I used OPI Teenage Dream and I finished it off with Nicole by OPI Love Your Life.

Heres the tutorial:

OPI Elephantastic Pink

Ok I started with a regular base coat first, of course. Then I only painted my tips with my darkest pink. Always start out with a cream nail polish not a sheer polish otherwise it won’t be as effective.

OPI Hawaiian Orchid

Next, painting just above the tip line add your second color. Your second color should be sheer enough to let your base color shine through, but creamier enough to blend the two together.

OPI Teenage Dream

Again, starting just above your previous color, paint on your third polish. This last color should be sheer also so you can get the same blending effect between your other two layers. The more you paint on, the darker the tips become. Since I was using a glitter polish I added more glitter on the tip first for a more obvious glitter effect. When adding the next layer, make sure you always start above your previous line.

Nicole by OPI Love Your Life

My last layer I used a less dense glitter to have a more dispersed effect. Your last layer should be the most sheer, almost clear. A lot of other tutorials suggest using a light glitter polish.

Here are some pictures of the finished product. Finally some sunlight out so I took some outside shots for you too. Click on the pictures to see a more up close and almost too personal shot.

I am really loving this one right now. But I’m curious to do other colors…Leave a comment, let me know what you think!